


In Cold Water

by Three_Oaks



Series: Oaksy's Prompt Game [10]
Category: Mission: Impossible (Movies)
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, Hypothermia, M/M, Marriage Proposal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-26
Updated: 2020-03-26
Packaged: 2021-03-01 00:35:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,027
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23326375
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Three_Oaks/pseuds/Three_Oaks
Summary: Ethan had planned everything to the last detail. The dinner, the opera. The ring.  And then he'd lost it.  He had to find that ring. No matter what. Or: how Ethan Hunt got hypothermia.Day 9:Proposal
Relationships: Benji Dunn/Ethan Hunt
Series: Oaksy's Prompt Game [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1676299
Comments: 2
Kudos: 38





	In Cold Water

Ethan threw his jacket on the cold tile floor of the bathroom, shivering. He struggled to take off his bowtie and unbutton his shirt with frozen fingers, and jumped in the shower.

The hot water running over him made him feel like he was coming back to life. He put his head under the faucet, relishing the feeling. Why had Springman thrown the briefcase into the river? Why couldn't he just have handed it to them, so Ethan didn't have to jump into the glacial water to find it? He sighed. Every time, there was something. But it was fine. They had completed the mission, they had all the document they needed to arrest Springman's bosses, and he hadn't even lost any extremities to frostbite. 

"Ethan? Everything alright?" Benji asked, over the bathroom door.

"Yes, I'm fine, thank you!"

Ethan smiled and felt his heart flutter. Tomorrow, they'd travel to Vienna. They'd put on their tuxedoes, have dinner in the best restaurant in the city, and go see Götterdammerung at the opera . After it was over, once the clapping had subsided and they were alone in the box, Ethan would ask Benji to marry him.

His heart fell like a stone. The ring. It had been in his jacket pocket when he'd jumped into the river. He threw the curtain open, nearly broke his neck on the slippery floor, and desperately grasped at his jacket, shaking it, trying all the pockets. The ring wasn't there.

The ring that he'd had made from Benji's mother wedding ring. That Benji had told him was his most treasured possession, a memory of her he couldn't lose. And he'd lost it.

For one moment, he wished he hadn't jumped in the river. 

He went out of the bathroom, got dressed, and found Luther.

"I need a diving suit."

***

Benji was starting to get a bit concerned. Ethan had left the safehouse twelve hours ago, and he still hadn't given any signs of life. He wasn't picking up his phone, and he'd refused to tell him where he was going when he'd kissed him goodbye.

Well, he'd been acting strangely for a while now. Maybe not strangely, not really. More like he was nervous. He was keeping something from him, Benji was sure of it. He'd been making plans, taking calls he'd stop as soon as Benji came into the room. He'd also been spending as much time as he could with him, staying in bed for long mornings, telling him how much he loved him as often as he could. He'd even planned a holiday for them so he could see his favorite opera.

Benji couldn't help but smile. He loved him so much. And he might have an idea what Ethan was hiding from him. They'd been talking about their future, in the past few months, and they'd both agreed that they wanted to spend the rest of their lives together. So maybe Ethan was... 

His phone rang.

"Benji? You need to get to the hospital. It's Ethan."

***

Benji ran into the hospital, his face white and his belly tight with fear. Luther was waiting for him in front of Ethan's room.

"Luther, what the hell happened? Is he badly hurt?"

"No, no, nothing like that. But I think you need to talk to him."

Benji went in without another word.

Ethan was lying on the bed under a mass of blankets. He was white as a corpse, and his lips were blue. He was shaking. Benji rushed by his side, sat on the bed and kissed his cheeks. His skin felt frozen.

"B...Benji," he said, his teeth clattering.

"It's ok. I've got you. You're going to be alright," he whispered into Ethan's ear, stroking his hair.

"I'm... I'm so sorry."

"For what?"

The door opened.

"Mr. Hunt? I'm Dr. Shaw. How are you feeling?"

"C...cold."

"It's not surprising. You have a body temperature of 33 °C. But don't worry, you'll be fine. We will discharge you in a week."

"What? No. We have to be in Vienna tomorrow!"

"You have severe hypothermia, Mr. Hunt. Leaving the hospital before then would be dangerous."

Before Ethan could protest anymore, Benji jumped in.

"Dr Shaw? I'll make sure he stays in bed."

"But..."

"You'll stay in bed, Ethan, even if I have to tie you to it."

"Very well, then. Try to get some rest," Dr Shaw said, leaving the room.

"Benji, I'm so sorry. I ruined everything."

He'd never seen Ethan look so put down.

"Of course not. But… What happened?"

"I lost... I lost your mother's ring in the river when I jumped in. I had Luther give me a diving suit so I could look for it."

"You gave yourself hypothermia looking for my mother's ring in a river?"

Ethan looked even more contrite. 

"I don't care about the ring, Ethan. I don't care about Vienna. All I care is that you're safe," Benji said, softy, squeezing Ethan's hand.

"But why did you have it on you?" 

"I'd planned everything. I had the ring altered, and we were going to Vienna, have dinner, see the opera, and then I'd ask you..."

"What were you going to ask me?"

"And now I messed everything up, and I'm so sorry."

"What were you going to ask me, Ethan?" His voice shook, just a little.

"Will you marry me, Benji?"

"Yes! Yes, of course."

Benji hadn't known he could be that happy. He pulled Ethan into a kiss that lasted until they couldn't breathe. He didn’t know how long they stared into each other's eyes, unable to speak.

After a while, Ethan’s face broke into a wide grin.

"Look into the drawer."

There it was. Benji's mother's ring. Larger, a bit changed. Still as beautiful. His ring. He started crying as Ethan put it on his finger.

"I love you so much, Ethan."

"I love you too."

Benji rested his head against Ethan's shoulder, feeling his breath, unable to look away from the ring on his hand. He could stay like that forever. Minutes, or maybe hours later, he started laughing.

"We're never going to see the opera, are we?

**Author's Note:**

> On tumblr as [ threeoaksy ](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/threeoaksy)


End file.
